“Ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around” – I woke up with this song in my head Saturday morning.
Last week I had the opportunity to take three people to Montgomery to participate in the 47th Selma to Montgomery March. Every year, people gather to commemorate the 1965 Voting Rights Marches and march fifty-seven miles from Selma to Montgomery. This year, the march organizers invited several labor and immigrant advocate groups from around the country to join the march not to just remember the historic marches but to come together and fight the current attacks on voting, immigrant and labor rights. The goal is to build a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic coalition to stand up for everyone’s human rights.
Joining us in the march was Sec. of the Dept. of Labor Hilda Solis (the first Latina ever appointed to a Cabinet position), Rev. Al Sharpton (no matter what you think of him, he sure can fire up a crowd!), the legendary farm worker advocate Dolores Huerta (I got my picture with her!), Martin Luther King, III and Jesse Jackson. Dick Gregory and rapper Tyreece were at the rally on Friday as well. But even more impressive than the dignitaries were the people who marched with us – young and old, African American, Latino, Asian, First Peoples, veterans, labor unions and everyday folks who wanted to show their support. It was a great experience.
We filmed much of the event and below is one of the first of the videos. Benito Sanchez, a UNL film student who traveled with us, put together this short video: